


The Wheel Weaves Anew

by soapwrites



Series: The Sixth Age [1]
Category: Wheel of Time - Robert Jordan
Genre: Alternate Age, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Character Death, Dreams, F/F, F/M, Fugitives, Identity Issues, M/M, Misunderstandings, Politics, Post-Canon, Reincarnation, Romance, Slow Burn, like really slow burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-13
Updated: 2020-09-13
Packaged: 2021-03-07 02:35:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,915
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26449396
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/soapwrites/pseuds/soapwrites
Summary: A bitter, acrid smell shifted on the wind on this chilly fall evening, barely remaining long enough for anybody to notice it among the smells of the bakery and incense and bonfires set up. Everything seemed to be as usual but the world around them was shifting, and dark things were rising on the horizon and even being far away from the touch of the greater world would not be enough to shield them from the touch of war.
Series: The Sixth Age [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1922695
Comments: 2
Kudos: 2





	The Wheel Weaves Anew

**Author's Note:**

> So this is just going to be a little idea I had for what a hypothetical sixth age in the universe of WoT might look like. I've kept much of the same ideas and themes but there are some changes that'll come into play later. I should be updating at least once a week, usually during the weekend!

It was the first day of fall and leaves were starting to turn shades of red and yellow and orange in a small coastal village that was rather removed from the rest of the world. As it had been done for so many years before, the village was to hold a Harvest Festival- one of the highlights of the year as peddlers came from outside of the locale and sellers set up stalls throughout the village.

A bitter, acrid smell shifted on the wind on this chilly fall evening, barely remaining long enough for anybody to notice it among the smells of the bakery and incense and bonfires set up.

Everything seemed to be as usual but the world around them was shifting, and dark things were rising on the horizon and even being far away from the touch of the greater world would not be enough to shield them from the touch of war.

* * *

Eir’s home was a little bit out of the way from the rest of the village. They lived only a short 10-minute walk from the ocean and a river ran behind their home. As she’d been told at least a hundred different times, every Anders since their family had first moved here had been a fisherman. There was rarely any exception to that rule. 

She herself had practically grown up half in the water and half on land. Eir couldn’t remember a time where she didn’t know how to swim or to man a boat. It was why she and two of her older brothers were on a boat right now.

They’d been out since morning and their fish box was starting to reach its capacity. It wasn’t a particularly spacious boat and it definitely had seemed larger a few years ago. Normally her father was the one who would catch the fish and her mother would prepare it for the market but he was getting old and he didn’t take to staying outside for so long as well as he used to. Sometimes she wanted to go out into the ocean a bit more, or into the forest, and not just stay on the tiny wooden boat near the coast.

After about thirty minutes or so, they started paddling back towards the shore, and pulled the boat back up towards the bank and started making their way back towards their house. Eir knew that this wasn’t going to last forever. She was going to get married at some point, probably someone from the village that would never go out on the boat and she’d be stuck on land. One of her brothers would stay to take over the fishing business and then the other would move out somewhere or maybe stay with his twin. It was a dreadful but expected future.

Near the house of young Eir, through the thick forest, came an individual, sitting atop a grey manned horse trotting a slow pace across the dirt road that went by the house and towards the town of LillyMoore, the town was in half of a valley, one way to exit was through the open part; the sea, the second way would be to sail through one of the larger rivers which were rarely done, or choose to walk and ride through the hilled valley side and through the few passes that gave exit. Lillymoore was known for its supply of fish, bountiful amounts of lumber and animal fur, and most of all their incense, whether it was for burning or for candles, they sold tons of it by the year all across the continent, people couldn’t get enough of what the small village had to offer.

The woman riding the horse was wearing a dark green dress, her hood up over her head, and light blue gloves covering her hands as she slowed down and watched the three siblings on the boat come into the shallow harbor, assuming they were fishermen types she had heard so much about from these parts. 

She pulled the reins of her horse turning towards the small house as she rode outside, lifting a hand very regally to give a small wave to alert them of the visitor from the road. As she tilted her head back, her hood fell to reveal the face of the beautiful woman, who looked nothing more than a wealthy passerby. It was very uncommon for these parts for someone with such obvious wealth to not be a merchant with a cart or at least some companions.

She took in the details of the house, the people she could see that had been on the boat, taking a specific interest in the girl she saw as well. The lady stayed atop her horse waiting for someone to come along and greet her as she sat, holding the reins and resting her hands in her lap.

The two of them were holding the fish box and Eir walked beside them. They nudged each other as they saw the beautiful stranger on the side of the road. She though that the woman looked a bit out of place. She wasn’t sure that even the village head had such high-quality clothing or even acted half as elegantly as she did. The horse was also obviously very high quality and looked to be built for speed and power whereas the horses ‘round here were generally built mostly for power.

Eir walked towards her first, her brother’s going in the house to put the box in the kitchen before they came out. She debated for a second on how to introduce herself. “Is there something you need? I’m Eirunn. My father is inside, I can get him.”

The woman on the horse waited patiently, her face a mask of serenity and elegance as if nothing in the world could faze her. She watched patiently as the young girl walked up to her. Her eyes examining her from head to toe, her hair, her face, facial features, her wet gown especially her eyes.

“No need for that dear. I just came to watch the three of you pull in that boat, I’ve always loved watching fishermen at work… It just has a sort of rustic charm to it.” she said trailing off examining the ocean around and then back to the tanned girl. “It’s nice to meet you Eirunn, you may call me Ms. Élan,” she told the girl a mask of a name. Her eyes seemed to look past Eirunn at something that only the lady could see. “How old are you girl?” She asked her. Looking at the woman it would have been hard to pinpoint exactly how old she was; was she only a few years older than Eir? Or was she the same age as her mother? It was impossible to tell.

Eir decided right then and there that this woman was slightly shady, if not very shady. She seemed like the women in the plays that would marry the king and then kill him off and then take over the world and nobody would suspect them. She fidgeted a bit under the woman’s gaze, shifting and trying to decide when it would be polite to leave. She wanted to ask the lady why she’d stopped at their dinky house in a rather dinky village. But that would only prolong the conversation. She could hear her brothers inside. Who enjoyed watching people fish? It was one thing to enjoy fishing, but watching it was horribly dull. It was at the same level as watching paint dry.

“It is nice to meet you as well, Ms. Elan.” She returned, stumbling a bit over the last name. It wasn’t anything like the ones she’d known that belonged to people in the village. “I just turned 17 last month,” Eir said, a slightly suspicious tone tinging her voice. And why was she asking about my age? Eir wondered.

The lady’s mare neighed slightly and she quickly took a hold of the reins, a thick breeze washing over the forest and making the trees ‘whoosh’ slightly, a slight tingle of ash and what smelt like burnt wood was on the air, but only for a few seconds and just like that the smell was gone from the air. The woman’s gaze faltered for a mere second before returning to the girl, calm as ever.

“I’ve got an apple if your horse would like it.” Eir offered, digging in her satchel. 

The woman examined the girl, taking into account her age and nodding. Her eyes stayed on the girl as she offered to give her horse an apple and she nodded. “Very well, do go ahead, she’s quite docile this one.” She said in her elegant tone. Patting the horse’s neck as it sniffed towards Eir already scenting the savory treat. “I heard there is supposed to be a sort of celebration in this village, will you and your family be attending it?” The woman asked from atop her horse, she seemed like a somewhat short woman, but it was hard to tell from atop the horse. 

Miss Elan pulled off her gloves tucking them into the front of her saddle, among one pale hand of the woman’s dainty hands was a gold enameled ring, a ring of a serpent biting its own tail. It was the telltale sign of women called Aes Sedai. This village probably hadn’t seen an Aes Sedai in centuries if not longer, and here out of nowhere. One was venturing into the town, the woman’s eyes continued to examine the young girl wondering if she would even notice, or even know what the ring meant. The message would be lost on Eirunn, the ring being interpreted as just another indicator of the woman’s wealth.

“Ah yes, there is. It’s in a couple of hours. Will you be staying for it?” Maybe that was it. Lillymoore was famous for its incense and it was cheaper to buy from the source. Then again, the woman didn't look like somebody that would be worried about how much something would cost. Eir remembered that the lady had asked her something. "My family's going to be running a food stall there. Fresh seafood and all that.” She figured that a bit of free advertisement would never go wrong. "Are you looking for something? I know most of the places around the village."

“I will see you again at the festival then, I’ll look forward to trying some of your family’s seafood.” Miss Elan pulled up the reigns and pat her mare’s mane. “Oh I am, but I’m afraid you’d be no help. I’ve already found it.” She said lifting her hand in a small wave and slipping her light blue gloves back onto her hands as the horse trotted off at a slow pace towards the town of Lillymoore, and after a few moments, the strange woman disappeared back into the thick green foliage of the trees, to be seen at a later time, that sulphury smell, that smelt like ash and burnt log hung in the breeze once again before drifting off to the ocean, the salty tang of the water filling the air as it should this close to the water.

She hoped that this meeting would perhaps lead to another customer. Eir shook her head before going back inside. The sun was starting to lower and that meant the festival started soon and that meant that she had to get ready quickly.


End file.
